Town’s funeral

By Tania Martin
THE people of Mt Evelyn say a proposed supermarket development will kill business in the town.
A mock funeral march for their businesses was held last Tuesday as the traders and townspeople protested against the development which they believe has been planned by retail giant Safeway.
The proposal is for a supermarket and five speciality stores plus a two-storey car park on the corner of Snowball Avenue and Station Street.
The traders have already taken action presenting a 1900 signatory petition to the Shire of Yarra Ranges just weeks after the application was received.
Clare Worsnop, president of the Mt Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA), said if the development goes ahead it will be the monolith of Mt Evelyn.
“It will block our views of the beautiful Dandenongs and we don’t want our town turned into a Mt Safeway,” she said.
Fears of a supermarket development have run rife through the town since 2003 when the land on the corner of Snowball Avenue and Station Street was rezoned from residential to business so that a pharmacy, doctor’s surgery and a car park could be developed.
The people of Mt Evelyn originally withdrew their objections to the rezoning of the land to make way for the pharmacy and doctor’s surgery.
But since then they have campaigned to re-establish the land as residential following speculation the land may be used as a Safeway supermarket.
In response to these concerns, the council agreed to develop a design development overlay in September last year in effort to protect the town against inappropriate developments.
Townspeople now fear work done on the overlay will come too late to protect the people of Mt Evelyn from the development.
The council last Tuesday agreed to send the overlay to an independent panel after it received 103 submission opposing and 183 supporting it.
Objectors say the overlay will restrict future commercial and retail developments and that it will increase the fragmentation of the town centre.
Supporters say it will protect the town from inappropriate developments while retaining the town’s village atmosphere.
Colin Gillam of Mt Evelyn fears all the work done on the overlay will be useless when it comes down to the council making a decision on the supermarket development.
Mr Gillam said the council promised that the overlay would be a part of the planning scheme by the end of November but now it will be further delayed by appointing a panel.
“At the current rate it will be mid 2007 before it is placed on the planning scheme which may be too late to protect our town against this development,” he said.
But Graham Whitt, shire manager of strategic planning, said the overlay will still have some impact on the application even though it hasn’t become a part of the council’s planning scheme.
Mr Whitt said although the overlay hasn’t been finalised, the process was started before the supermarket application was received and will still be considered when making the decision.